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Right-wing media accused Trump of “obvious” stock market manipulation

Right-wing media also suspect someone close to Trump of insider trading, asserting “clearly there’s somebody that had some information”

Written by Reed McMaster

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan

Published

Updated

Update (3/27/26): This piece has been updated with additional examples.

Right-wing media figures accused President Donald Trump of manipulating the market after stocks surged following his March 23 social media post claiming that the war in Iran was winding down. Additionally, oil and gas futures purchases spiked just before Trump’s announcement about a seemingly nonexistent “resolution” with Iran, leading some in right-wing media to suggest that people close to the president, or even within Trump’s administration, were guilty of insider trading. 

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  • Trump's shock announcement on Monday triggered a stock rally, despite Iranian officials claiming nothing he said was true

    • On March 23, Trump posted on Truth Social about a potential “resolution of our hostilities” with Iran, which Iranian officials quickly denied. The New Republic reported that Trump's claim on Truth Social about “PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST” was refuted by Iranian officials, who said they had “no direct contact with Trump, not even through intermediaries.” [Truth Social, 3/23/26; The New Republic, 3/23/26]
    • This is not the first time a Trump Truth Social post has moved the market despite little to no evidence. Following Trump's massive tariff policy announcement last year, NPR reported that after “Trump said on Truth Social that he would pause the harshest of his tariffs on most countries. Stocks immediately skyrocketed in relief.” NPR noted that markets then slumped the following day after Trump increased his proposed tariff on China. [NPR, 4/10/25, 4/10/25]
    • Minutes before Trump's announcement, the total purchases of shares in oil and gas futures in the U.S. stock market surged. CNBC reported, “At around 6:50 a.m. in New York, S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the CME recorded a sharp and isolated jump in volume, breaking from an otherwise subdued premarket backdrop. … A similar pattern was observed in oil markets. West Texas Intermediate May futures also saw a noticeable pickup in trading activity at roughly the same time, with a distinct volume spike interrupting otherwise quiet conditions.” [CNBC, 3/23/26]
    • Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argued that the sudden purchase of oil and gas futures ahead of Trump's announcement was likely insider trading. Krugman wrote that trading off of pre-planned announcements regarding a war is both “treason” and “reveals information to current or potential foreign adversaries,” asking, “Are decisions about war and peace in part serving the cause of market manipulation rather than the national interest?” [Substack, 3/24/26]

  • Right-wing media figures called out Trump’s post as “obvious” market manipulation

    • Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro suggested “the most likely reality” is that Trump posted his message to “signal to the markets that there will be an end to the war” because “he wants the price of oil to drop.” [The Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, 3/23/26]
    • White nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes said “it seems very obvious” that Trump's post was “some kind of financial manipulation” to ”salvage the markets." He said, “When you consider the timing, it looks like this is some kind of financial manipulation. It seems very obvious that that's what this entire thing was. This was using our leverage over the weekend — and maybe the idea is we could compel Iran into making a deal with a threat like that. In the event that Iran doesn't listen, then we can call it off and we can salvage the markets.” [Rumble, America First, 3/23/26]
    • Podcaster Tim Pool said there is concern that “Trump is trying to protect the markets.” [YouTube, Timcast, 3/23/26]
    • Infowars guest Brandon Weichert argued Trump's statement was an attempt to “smooth the markets” and lessen the “real impacts on his political fortune.” Weichert said Trump is “a media guy fundamentally. He's more interested in managing the perception, and he's more interested in trying to smooth the markets because he understands that that's going to have real impacts on his political fortune here at home.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 3/23/26]
    • “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander accused Trump of manipulating the market and insisted he had no prior knowledge of Trump’s post. Alexander said, “When Trump manipulated the market, I didn't sell any of the positions I told Polihedge subscribers I was entering or any I entered Sunday evening.” [Telegram, 3/23/26; ABC News, 12/18/21]
    • Far-right figure John Sabal called Trump's post “a form of stock market manipulation.” He wrote, “It appears that Trump has fabricated a statement about talks with Iran, playing ‘good cop’ as a form of stock market manipulation.” [Telegram, 3/23/26; Media Matters, 2/8/22] 
       

  • Right-wing media personalities also suggested someone with prior knowledge of Trump’s announcement engaged in insider trading, calling it potentially “the most corrupt administration in history”

    • Tim Pool argued, “If you had information pertaining to Trump's announcement, you just got rich.” He added, “This was preplanned messaging for Monday morning, probably over the weekend, and insiders knew.” [YouTube, Timcast, 3/23/26]
    • Podcaster Benny Johnson said “someone always knows” when a major announcement like the Iranian ceasefire is about to drop. He stated, “I was checking Polymarket, noticing people opening up positions for a ceasefire before the end of March. A lot of cash riding on this. Someone always knows.” [YouTube, The Benny Show, 3/23/26]
    • Podcaster and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon claimed that “clearly there’s somebody that had some information” before Trump's statement and suggested they put money into trades before the announcement was posted. He said, “Clearly there’s somebody that had some information before President Trump came out and made that statement. I'm sure that's going to be investigated. $580 million of trades minutes before that, quite frankly, that kind of shock announcement.” [Real America's Voice, War Room with Steve Bannon, 3/24/26]
    • Nick Fuentes suggested that if government officials are trading based on Trump's planned announcements, they're “the most corrupt administration in history.” Fuentes added, “If you knew that that announcement was coming on Saturday, and if you knew that that announcement was coming on Monday — based on conversations with the president, or you knew some other way — you could have made a fortune shorting everything on Saturday and then making money on Monday. You could have made a small fortune. And as people have reported, many people have.” [Rumble, America First, 3/23/26]
    • Podcaster Shawn Ryan pondered if the increase in trading volume “was insider trading from Congress, the administration, and the Senate.” He stated, “Whoever made those trades, made $60 billion. I wonder if that was Congress. I wonder if that was insider trading from Congress, the administration, and the Senate.” [YouTube, The Shawn Ryan Show, 3/26/26]
    • Podcaster Joe Rogan questioned why there isn't a “massive investigation” into the trading ahead of Trump's announcement. He said, “How is there not a massive investigation into that right away? Didn't someone make like $1,800,000,000 in like five minutes?” [YouTube, The Joe Rogan Experience, 3/26/26]
    • PBD Podcast panelist Tom Ellsworth claimed a “circle of people” knew of the announcement and traded ahead of time. He stated, “Who knew what the president was going to say? A circle of people in Washington, D.C. They know what the president's going to say,” Ellsworth continued, “And they put this out here. You know, this is why we need the insider trading rules that they won't pass.” [YouTube, PBD Podcast, 3/25/26]